Author Topic: I have to upgrade my rig (Read 411 times)

petehnek · « **on:** May 24, 2007, 07:27:40 AM »

I just got a Series II and I'm psyched. The looks, the feel, and the sound all exceeded my expectations, which, considering the price, were pretty damn high! Since you can't fly on one wing, I have to upgrade my rig situation. I want to do an Alembic pre-amp, QSC PLX2 power amp of some sort, and a couple of Ampeg 4x10 cabs. I've never gone preamp/power amp route before, so I have some questions:

1) F1X or F2B with a Series II?
2) SF2? I think I want one. Where does it go in the chain?
3) Sometimes I use lots of effects. Does it make sense to keep the neck pickup dry and send the bridge pickup through the effects? How best to do that?

I'm pretty much sold on QSC amp and Ampeg cabs cause A) my friend can get deals from both; and B) I love Ampeg, have an old SVT that I can't be bothered lugging around anymore.

Any advice appreciated
cheers
Pete

bsee · « **Reply #1 on:** May 24, 2007, 11:02:35 AM »

One of us ought to write a checklist for this kind of question and stick it in the FAQ. Things like:

What's the makeup of the band?
For home use, live, or studio?
Stereo or mono?
Does weight matter?
How many cabs do you want to carry?
Do you need a DI?
Are you a tweaker?
What sort of tone are you looking for?
One tone that is you or duplication of original tones in a covers environment?

In answer to the couple questions you asked above:

1. Either, based on some of the answers to questions I asked above.
2. If you're a tweaker, yes. An SII already has a lot of tone control. Too much tweaking tends to be counterproductive if you already have the tone coming out of the bass.
3. That's an alternative and it gives you an on/off for effects at your fingertips - simply switch pickups. Could be odd if you run stereo depending on cab positions. Another alternative is a crossover to send only higher frequencies to effects. Each will sound different. Splitting the pickups will obviously require some stereo signal handling, though you could amplify in stereo or mono. Choice of effects matters too. Some are better between the bass and pre (usually pedals) while others are better in a loop (many rack units).

Sorry - I'm in a hurry at the moment. Will check in again later and see how you're doing on this.

-bob

petehnek · « **Reply #2 on:** May 24, 2007, 12:22:09 PM »

Hey Bob, thanks for posting.

I looked around a bit, but there's so many threads that I gave up looking for the Series II rig stuff.

Makeup of band: varies, usually 1 or 2 guitars, drums, singer, maybe a horn. SOmetimes I do electronic experimental stuff, loops and weirdness.

Live and home studio use.

Stereo. I've been running the DS5R two ouptuts into my Saffire or B-15, sounds much bigger in stereo mode.

Weight matters, flights of steps. QSC stuff is light.

I will deal with 2 cabs max. Apt. room issues, stairs...

I tweak depending on the circumstance. In a rock setting, I just tend to play. In a funk or electronic deal, I mess around more.

I generally want a brutal, huge tone. I'm not into the highs so much, more big mids with plenty of bottom.

I have no specific tone. I've been using various basses setup differently to get what I want, like flatwounds with a piece of foam under the strings or lighter strings/active electronics for slap, or just your basic Jazz/Rotosound/SVT deal.

I don't have any rackmount effects. I use Electroharmonix Micro Synth, Mooger Fooger, Q-Tron, Bass Wah, Analog Delay, Digital Delay, generally.

When I use effects I notice the bottom end can fall out. If possible or practical I'd like to keep the neck PU dry to keep the fatness without getting volume drops from switching off the bridge PU. Since I use foot pedals there's no real need to activate/deactivate an effect line by turning on/off a PU.

Thanks for your help!
cheers
Pete

David Houck · « **Reply #3 on:** May 28, 2007, 05:07:20 PM »

I use the F-2B.

The F-1X has a cleaner tone; the F-2B has more of a tube tone.

I run the neck pickup into one channel and the bridge pickup into the other channel. That way I can individually EQ each pickup. For me, it makes a difference. I then come mono out of the preamp.

Based on your brutal description, my guess would be that the tone of the F-2B would be better suited than the F-1X.

Since you want to keep the neck pickup dry, my guess would be that you would run the neck pickup from the DS-5 to one channel of the F-2B. Then the bridge pickup from the DS-5 to your chain of pedals, and from there to the second channel of the F-2B. Then I would go mono out to the SF-2, which I run in parallel mono mode, and from there to the PLX.

As to whether it makes sense to keep the neck pickup dry, I have no idea; I've never tried it. But it's an interesting idea.

flaxattack · « **Reply #4 on:** May 28, 2007, 08:47:56 PM »

check out the acme cabs
www.acmebass.com
i just ordered the lowb-2
w
qsc 1602 and fx-1
del in 2-3 weeks on the cab

petehnek · « **Reply #5 on:** June 20, 2007, 08:44:43 AM »

For some reason I didn't see these responses until today. Anyway, thanks for the advice!

Well, since I didn't see the response I just ordered an F1X. We'll see how that works out. I may have overstated things when I said brutal. I play funk and hard rock, some motown stuff, not headbanging death metal. I can unload it and pick up an F2B if need be, or get another F1X I suppose if I really have to split the signal. Why not spend as much money as possible?

I'm going to get some sort of QSC plx2 amp. My friend is pushing the 3602, which has huge power. I'm not playing the Garden any time soon, so that may be over doing it.

I'm looking at Acme cabs, trying to figure out what to do there. Maybe a 2x10 and a 4x10, or two 4x10s or two 2x10s. I've got flights of stairs to deal with...

Thanks for the help!

Pete

bsee · « **Reply #6 on:** June 20, 2007, 07:36:51 PM »

The F-1X is great for funk and motown, but it won't do stereo or give you a lot of tubiness. Here's a thought:

Neck pickup -> F-1X -> QSC channel A -> Schroeder 1212L
Bridge pickup -> PodXT Live -> QSC channel B --> Schroeder 1210L

The F-1X will give you tight full-range from the neck pickup and the PodXT will let you tailor your tone and a little effect as needed for your various styles. I am partial to the Schroeder cabs and they weigh about 35 pounds a piece in very movable package. Either half of the rig should also be plenty for smaller gigs or rehearsals. I am talking to friends at Bose to try to get a deal on a PackLite power amp for the practice space so I don't have to bring or run the QSC when 250 watts is more than plenty to do the job.

For power, I recently got a 2402 and it is way more power than I need for bar gigs and even decent sized outdoor shows. Something between a 1602 and a 2502 should be plenty for most stereo bass setups. I ran one side of the power amp into my Schroeder 21012L with the dial short of a third of the way up for my last bar gig.

Good luck!
-Bob

David Houck · « **Reply #7 on:** June 20, 2007, 09:39:31 PM »

Every once in a while I think about running the neck pickup to the F-1X and the bridge pickup to the F-2B. I guess I would then join the outputs with a Y cable and go mono to the rest of the chain.

petehnek · « **Reply #8 on:** June 21, 2007, 07:28:58 AM »

The Pod XT is an interesting option. I got a Bass Pod years ago, wouldn't go anywhere without it for awhile, but I'm sure it's outdated now. I found it useful when going direct into ProTools and stuff. But with a new rig maybe I should pickup the F-2B and have done with.

The Schroeders also look interesting, never heard of them before. I like the light weight, though they are pricey. They seem to give quite a bit of bang for the buck and there's actually a place here in the City where I can try them, which is helpful. Looks like it's time to sell the Ducati.

So for the stereo setup, do you place one speaker on each side of the stage?

jbybj · « **Reply #9 on:** June 21, 2007, 09:51:59 AM »

So for the stereo setup, do you place one speaker on each side of the stage?

If your main purpose is to keep a clean low end separate from a whacked effect, then I wouldn't separate your speakers like true stereo, but stack them. When I was in college, (late 70's) I played my jazz bass through a little muff fuzz and a small stone phase shifter, and was very unhappy with the loss of low end. I split the pu's and put one each out a stereo jack, keeping the neck pu clean, and sending the bridge to the effects, feeding two separate amps. It was awesome, big bottom and freaky at the same time. Currently, (no stereo basses!) I acheive a similar result with the Radial ABY switcher, one output stays clean, the other feeds my pedal board. Without the clean channel I feel like my bass has been neutered. Peace, JBY

bsee · « **Reply #10 on:** June 21, 2007, 04:46:26 PM »

I wouldn't in this case, Pete. That kind of stereo is to create an image where the sound coming from each side is slightly different. Often it is accomplished by using delays and chorus effects that differ between the sides.

In the Series bass case, what it seems you're really after is the ability to process the signal from each pickup individually from beginning to end. That doesn't require that you separate the cabinets. Also, the bass source would then change location when you adjust the pickup selector.

That isn't to say that you couldn't set up that way, and there's never anything wrong with experimenting when you have the opportunity. As usual, much depends on what sound you're trying to create and how you're going to use the instrument.

As far as Schroeders go, yeah, try one if you can. Even better, see if you can take a demo to a gig or rehearsal to see how well they work in the band situation.

petehnek · « **Reply #11 on:** June 22, 2007, 06:29:55 AM »

Yeah, it didn't really seem to make much sense separating the speakers like that.

I like the trying out the demo idea for the Schroeders. Once I get my amp situation sorted out, I'll see what I can do. Should have just gotten an F2B I think, but I guess I can get one and pair it up with the F1X and be totally self indulgent and broke!

dannobasso · « **Reply #12 on:** June 22, 2007, 06:18:49 PM »

Be totally self indulgent in the gear zone. It aint like crack bruddah!
I'm currently running a epi ul212, t310, el whappo jr and low b4.
f1x,sf2, plx3402 and genz benz gbe1200. Huge does not even describe it. Keep trying out gear and have fun with it. Life is too short to miss out on good clean power happiness. Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead! Hope you find your dream rig.
(If you do want an Acme b4 mine is available for sale.)

petehnek · « **Reply #13 on:** June 25, 2007, 06:14:43 AM »

I guess it's silly to start worrying about being self indulgent after I've had a Series II made for me!

I think I'll pick up the F2B and run like this
Neck pickup -> F-1X -> QSC channel A -> Schroeder 1212L
Bridge pickup -> F2B -> QSC channel B --> Schroeder 1210L

Provided of course I like the Schroders. At 45 pounds or so and 800 watts, they'd really have to sound like crap for me not to get them.

benson_murrensun · « **Reply #14 on:** July 03, 2007, 10:08:37 AM »

Flaxattack mentioned the ACME cabinets. I bought one and loved it so much that I bought a second. These things are outstanding! Very hi-fi, with lots of bottom, a 3-way cabinet so the woofers can deal with only the low frequencies. They are light and competitively priced. Keep in mind that you need lots of amp power to make them sound good. My rig is an Avalon U5 into a QSC RMX2450 into the 2 Acme cabs. My Alembic sounds so good that I can switch the Avalon's tone circuit off, so I use no EQ other than what's on the bass itself.